Look at the events, history and lives of people in Enderby and their church from the parish magazines of the 20s, 30s and 40s. Times of economic depression and world war but also of challenges met and improvements made in Enderby and its church.

In these reviews we hope you can see the real history of a church; the people, their faith and what they did. Please click on the buttons to the left.

We have recently been kindly given the parish magazines from 1892 to 1897. View extracts from the magazines by clicking on the buttons to your right

Enderby is affected by a general election, celebrates a royal wedding, welcomes the Bishop of Trinidad, and enjoys it's feast day (to the vicar's concern).

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Enderby suffers a typhoid epidemic, is in distress during a harsh winter, welcomes African chiefs and is called on to support the Church schools.

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Enderby celebrates Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee, sickness attacks Enderby's children, and the vicar is elected to Enderby's first Parish Council.

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Early History

The Church was rebuilt in 1868, but it is impossible to know when it was first built. There is little doubt that the event was related to the abandonment of an earlier building at Aldeby, a village that was situated near the banks of the river Soar. The site of the Church is well known and foundations of a little Saxon edifice have been found. It is recorded that Richard Gravesend, the Bishop of Lincoln, who died in 1279 allowed the Church of Aldeby to be "altogether removed ", and that the newly built Church of Enderby should be the Parish Church of Whetstone which only became a separate cure in 1867. The transfer from Aldeby to Enderby may have been due to damage caused by persistent flooding of the river, which still continues today. Unfortunately, the mandate of Bishop Gravesend is only known by a quotation, quoted as being in March 1270, but it would appear that the original Church in Enderby was already in existence by that time. In the year 1225 a certain Hugh de Welles endowed the Vicarage of Enderby, but this probably means the parish with no suggestion that the Parish Church was in the village. So we can assume that there was a Church on the present site in 1270, and that it was built not much earlier than 1240. The present tower dates from this time, although the arch with its strange carvings has been declared by some to be " imitation ". Nobody knows with complete certainty.

The church before it was rebuilt in 1868 from the South West

The church before it was rebuilt in 1868 from the North East

Nobody can be absolutely sure if a curious mal-alignment of the tower and the body of the Church is a result of the rebuilding in 1868 and is not a feature of the original Church. Records still remain which tell that there was a gallery in the West end, and that the whole structure was much narrower than it now is. The Tower also had a pinnacle at each corner, but these were removed in recent times because of the dangerous state into which they had developed.

Rebuilding

The body of the Church was rebuilt in 1868 by Mr. Charles Brook at a cost of £7,000 together with the present Vicarage. A memorial to this benefactor stands in the playground of the 'old school' opposite, for which he was also largely responsible. At the time of the re-building, the pulpit and font were given by the parishioners, and an organ - the first to be installed in the Church but this was replaced by the present instrument. There are many pieces of stone in the wall and grounds of the Hall that appear to have come from the original Church. The font itself was not very ancient, having been installed in 1842 to replace one that in 1518 was noted to be in a very poor condition, and in 1779 was ordered to be renewed and painted to represent stone. One may presume that the old Church contained a number of memorial tablets and tombs, but if so, only five survived the restoration of 1868, and of these, four are in memory of the family of Richard Smith who was the local Squire, and the fifth in memory of Valentine Pyne about whom history is silent.

So, it can be seen that in spite of its long history of over 700 years, Enderby Church, apart from its tower, has little of any great historical interest to offer.

Records

The churches ancient records are full of interest, dating from 1559 like so many other parish records, owing to a decree issued by Queen Elizabeth Ist. The entries for the first few years are copies, from an earlier register, no longer extant, and appear to have been copied very erratically. The cost of the register is given as nine shillings (paid for by the Churchwardens), which may be wanderingly compared with the income of the Vicar that is recorded five years later as being 9 of which he was forced unwillingly to pay over 1 to the Bishop. This vicar was married and had ten children. It was at this same period, Nicholas Dayley and his wife Dorothy were haled before the Archdeacon to be punished for not receiving their communion on Easter morning. A reminder of the strict discipline enforced in the Church at that era of her history. A hundred years later the income of the Vicar had increased to £30 a year, and there is a very comprehensive document setting out the tithes from which most of this accrued, ranging from 1d. for each lamb, if they were under seven in number, to 10d as a kind of "death duty" on an estate of greater value than £40. This is typical of the way in which incumbents made their levies upon every possible source of rural income.

These explanations come from a centenary booklet (1968) written by 'G.F.C.' for Enderby parish Church.

From the Bible